PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Rutland, Vt.'s, Jared Nelson and Dartmouth's, Mark Purrington Tuesday earned a spot in the U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying Tournament with their performances at the local qualifier at Berkshire Hills Country Club. The two tied for first in the one-round event at 3-under-par 69 to earn the two berths at stake in the June 3 sectional in Purchase, N.Y. Another Vermonter, Killington's Garren Poirier, finished just out of the money in third place at 2-under 70, the only other red number on the leaderboard. Poirier, like Nelson, is an amateur. Nelson made the turn at even par but started the back nine strong with birdies on the

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Brandon Rousseau won the 18th annual Jocelyn E. LeClair Memorial Scholarship Race on Sunday at Windsor Lake. Rousseau covered the 5-kilometer course in 21 minutes, 4 seconds, nearly a minute ahead of the field. The runner up — and first woman across the line — was April Varellas, who finished in 22:00. A small but hearty contingent of runners participated in the event, and though the skies threatened rain, the weather held off for the event, which raises scholarship money for students at Drury High School and Hoosac Valley Regional High School plus the YMCA’s summer camps and the ROPES camp. The JEL was started nearly

The 2019 season did not go the way anyone in the American International College men’s lacrosse program may have wanted. But the program will not soon forget the contributions made by graduating senior Quinn Caesar. Caesar, a graduate of Wahconah, wrapped up his collegiate career last month when the Yellowjackets ended an 0-16 campaign. Look beyond those numbers, though, and you see an impressive story. Caesar set a school record with 63 games played in four years and finished as AIC’s all-time leading scorers among midfielders with 56 goals, and he is eighth on the school’s scoring chart at his position with 79 points. He scored his final

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council agreed to cover the funding gap in the Clapp Park renovation project. The city had found itself short by about $150,000 for the park's planned restoration. The project entails the installation of a splash pad, improvements to the baseball field, and restoring the bathroom. It once encompassed more but had been scaled back after bids came in too high in the fall. The latest version of the project was recently bid and the response also came in too high so the council is filling the gap. "This is not the position we wanted to be in but this project was bid twice and the bids came in higher than anticipated," Parks

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — After bids came in too high twice, the City Council is being asked to up the city's contribution toward the renovation of Clapp Park. The city had received a $400,000 state grant to undertake a massive restoration of the West Housatonic Street park. That was matched by city funds for bathrooms, the community preservation act funding, $180,000 donation from the Rotary Club, and a $5,000 donation from Carr Hardware. But, it is not enough. Parks and Open Spaces Manager Jim McGrath said the project is about $150,000 underfunded after the most recent bids were opened. The project has to be done by the end of June or else the city will lose its starting

BOSTON, Mass. -- Lee’s Matt Kinnaman finished 71st in his division to post one of the strongest performances among Berkshire County residents competing at Monday’s 123rd Boston Marathon. Kinnaman, 58, covered the 26.2 mile route from Hopkinton to downtown Boston in 3 hours, 13 minutes, 15 seconds. The fastest county resident listed on the Boston Athletic Association’s list of official finishers on Monday evening was Great Barrington’s Nicholas Curelop, 30, who broke the three-hour mark, finishing in 2:58:18 to finish 1,603rd in his division. The fastest woman across the finish line from the county contingent was Housatonic’s Kristen

The YMCA has been an anchor on North Street for years and may soon get a face-lift. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The YMCA is planning a $5 million renovation project to its downtown building. The plan is to overhaul the interior of the building and restore large windows on the front and side facades. The organization believes it will increase the amount of space in all areas while preserving the architectural landscape. "Our plan is to modernize the front of the building, make it all glass," said Executive Director Randy Kinnas. The work will restore the outward appearance of the building to the original 1909 condition. It will re-open bricked

The remarkable run by Pittsfield’s Peyton Steinman and Grace Guachione and the St. Anselm College women’s basketball team continued Monday into the quarter-finals of the NCAA Division II tournament. The Hawks defeated LeMoyne College, 63-61, to advance to next Tuesday’s Elite Eight games in Columbus, Ohio. Steinman played every minute of the Sweet 16 contest, scoring 19 points, including a 3-pointer and 12-for-12 shooting at the free throw line. “It’s surreal,” Steinman said in the post-game press conference. “I’m going to use the word again, it’s electric down there. We got knocked out early in the NE-10, and we

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Boys and Girls Club of the Berkshires’ fifth- and sixth-grade girls basketball team finished a remarkable season by winning the Ed Szlats Memorial Tournament this weekend in Chicopee. The team went for 3-0 in pool play in the B division before knocking off St. Stan’s 39-11 to win the title. The team competed in eight tournaments this year, winning five and finishing runner up in the other three. It finished its season with a record of 33-4 displaying outstanding talent, teamwork, toughness, and sportsmanship along the way. The team includes: Gionnah Levardi, Kyana Summers, Alivia Mauer, Harolyn Castillo, Dezerea Powell, Maddy